by Rachael Wade
“Thank you, Victor,” Gavin said, then leaned toward him, asking quietly, “Can you tell me if our friends are still alive?” I strained to listen, desperate for information.
“They were admitted with curses lifted as requested, sir. Although I’m unsure of their status since their entrance.”
They’re alive! My heart leaped, and I couldn’t contain myself. “So you don’t know where they are?”
Gavin’s head jerked toward me, warning in his eyes.
“No, I do not. Last I heard, they were seen near the windmill in the East Village,” Victor murmured, taken back by my outburst.
“Thank you, Victor.” Gavin shushed me, shooting me another look.
With one quick slip of Victor’s key, the gigantic golden gates began to ease open, pushing through the cloudy haze, beckoning our entry.
“I do wish you all … luck,” Victor mumbled, looking down, before he scurried off.
Gavin signaled our flock to move forward, and as we ascended farther up a short incline, the clouds began to dissipate, revealing a wondrous sight. I blinked, stunned to find a sprawling, bustling village nestled in a deep valley, with medieval architecture and rustic sheds and barns. A mixture of Gothic arches and Renaissance-style columns lined small wood churches or chapels, and men herded cattle in the distance and through the cobblestone streets. The city didn’t look much like a city at all, but instead, enchanting arrangements of villages surrounding a main village, scattered to the east and the west, where rolling hills painted the horizon.
“This way.” Gavin pointed toward the eerie windmill that sat at the peak of the village’s hill, straight ahead, toward what seemed to be Main Street. Smells of wheat and farm animals seized my senses, and I gasped at the modest peasant clothing the villagers wore, in awe that such a place existed outside my favorite fairytale worlds.
“Everything is handmade here,” Gavin said when he saw my expression. “Culture shock, I know.” He smiled warmly, gripping me around the waist, securing me to his side.
“More like time warp.…” I continued to scan our surroundings. My perceptions quickly went from enchanting, to bleak, and then to depressing. Guards shouted commands at villagers, using whips to direct their orders. Some of them plucked fruit and goods straight from the marketplace stalls, squashing and destroying them as they strolled by just for fun, disgusting, smug looks on their faces as they delighted at the terror they inflicted. Gavin had told me the exile was guarded, briefed me on life in Amaranth, but this was not what I’d pictured.
“Gav …”
“They don’t hurt them, Cam,” he whispered in a hushed breath. “But they have control here, and sometimes it’s … abused. It’s okay, baby.” He pulled me closer and ushered me along.
“You sure you know where you’re going, man?” Josh came to walk beside Gavin and me, looking as uneasy as I felt. “These people don’t look too thrilled to see us.”
He was right. People stared at us, the intruders, eyes wide as they moved away, cautious in their paths.
“They’re just intimidated. I can sense their fear. We’re strangers, not guards.” Gavin lifted his arm slightly to give the passersby a friendly wave.
What were we supposed to say? We come in peace? Take us to your leader? This was all so strange. I started to feel even further removed from my element.
We reached the East Village and Gavin led us toward a tall, lanky house with a roof made of wood pilings and straw, adjacent to the hill where the windmill stood. “I think this is it,” he whispered, approaching the house’s doorway.
“Gavin!” The door sprang open and out came Gabe, astonished, and though thin, glowing from head to toe. He looked relieved, thrilled to see his best friend. Gavin dropped his bag and tackled him. They embraced and patted each other on the back. Gavin held Gabe’s shoulders to stare at him, his expression ecstatic.
“Man, I wasn’t sure …”
“I know, Gav. I know, man. When I heard you escaped, I thought for sure—”
“Human looks good on you.”
I smiled at their reunion, wanting to rush up and squeeze Gabe myself. But I didn’t want to interrupt their moment. And I was too distracted, my eyes searching for her.
“And Camille!” Gabe turned to me beaming, scooped me up and spun me around in his arms, his now-human eyes full of life. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you!”
I hugged him back, squealing. “Me, too, Gabe. I—I don’t know what to say…” I started crying, the joyful tears flowing uncontrollably, barely aware of the others, who stood behind Gavin and me, glancing at one another.
“Oh, my—” A voice gasped from behind them. “Camille!”
Audrey. She was really here. She dropped a bucket of water she’d been lugging to run toward me, pushed through the other vampires and smacked into me full speed, smothering me in her arms, hugging me tighter than she’d ever hugged me before. Shrieking, I squeezed her back, tears blinding me, my insides bursting with glee. I didn’t realize just how much I’d missed her until I saw her beautiful face and grabbed the side of her head, feeling her dirty-blonde hair between my fingers. It’s real! She’s really alive!
“You guys are human!” I shouted, nearly knocking her over when I tightened my hug.
“We thought you two were dead, Camille Hart. What the hell were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that!”
“I—I’m so sorry, Aud. I never meant …”
“Water under the bridge, damn it. Just keep hugging me! And don’t ever, ever scare me like that, ever again. I could’ve strangled you!”
Thoughts of her abrupt decision to become immortal without telling me rang in my head, but I decided to hold my tongue. I squeezed her tighter until I felt Gavin caress my elbow.
“I know we’re excited to see each other, but we need to take this inside, love.” He whispered this into my ear, letting Gabe lead the way inside. We all piled into the house, Audrey and I hand-in-hand.
“There are some more bunks upstairs,” Gabe announced to the other vampires, pointed to the wooden ladders. “Everyone will have to double up. This is the best we could do. We weren’t sure how much room we’d need. I thought for sure you’d be …” His eyes teared up. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze.
Everyone began talking among themselves, wandering about to claim sleeping quarters. The house, a large cottage really, was hot and stuffy and smelled like sweet hay, complete with a little kitchen area lined with pots and kettles for cooking. Gabe and Gavin immediately started opening bags and passing around blood while Audrey whisked me to the cooking area. Soon, we each held a chalice of rum.
“Cheers to … everything!” She squealed again, slung an arm around my shoulder.
“There’s so much to say, I don’t even know where to begin …” I coughed as I took a swallow of my drink. Music suddenly filled the house and I looked to see Gavin and Gabe, sitting on hollowed-out logs in the main gathering area, playing strange-looking guitars.
“Well, start with telling me who that is.” Audrey cocked an eyebrow as she motioned to Scarlet, who was dancing in the middle of the room, everyone crowding around to join her.
“Oh, Aud. You never could resist salacious gossip.”
“Nope. Spill.”
“I think she’ll be happy to enlighten you,” I choked out, and took another swig of my liquid bravery. Scarlet stopped dancing and headed our way.
“Hey ladies,” she cooed as she sidled up. I tucked my green-eyed monster away and took a deep breath. We hadn’t even begun our mission yet. If I didn’t get this jealousy issue under control soon, we’d have even greater problems to contend with. And I wasn’t about to let Scarlet’s swaying hips be the cause of our demise.
6
SCARLET FEVER
“So Gabe is yours?” Scarlet giggled, took a sip from her chalice. “Yummy. J’adore!”
“Yeah. J’adore, too, mon amie,” Audrey replied, a fake smile plastered on her face.
&
nbsp; “And you changed for him, just to come here with him? Pardon moi, but that seems awfully rash.”
“You’re pardoned.”
I shoved my elbow into Audrey’s side. “Be civil,” I hissed through my teeth. The three of us huddled around the kitchen’s warm fire as the sky grew black, its eerie blush-hued crescent now present through the window. The strange shadow over the moon still threw me off; the Amaranthian moon was so striking compared to earth’s.
“Excusez-moi, darling,” Scarlet said to Audrey. “I just can’t fathom giving up so much for one of us, let alone only to be turned human again. Seems rather silly.” She giggled innocently.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” Audrey said through clenched teeth, “but I have a family history with the frozen souls. Looking for an old family member of mine while I’m here, in fact.”
“Audrey,” I nudged her again, rolled my eyes.
“It’s okay, Camille,” Scarlet said, finishing her drink. “I didn’t mean to pry. Just curious.” She shrugged, returning her attention to Audrey’s less-than-amused face. “If you wouldn’t mind sharing which family member you’re looking for, perhaps I can help you find them. I have a long history with the Amaranthians.”
Her tone was matter-of-fact. She has a long history with a lot of things, I’m sure.
Blithe, she added, “Why, I used to work for Samira’s servants.”
She did? What was she, the entertainment? I reigned in my temper again and quietly scolded myself.
“Really?” Audrey piped up, caught off guard. “Uh, I mean … thanks. Her name is Cecile, actually. I learned she came to Amaranth years ago, worked as a seamstress I believe? I’ve been searching for her, asking around. No one seems to know what happened to her.”
“Cecile, Cecile, Cecile …” Scarlet chewed over the name, ran her finger across her lip. “I’ll ask around, do some digging. If you haven’t run into her by now, it’s unlikely she’s within the city walls.”
“Yeah, I haven’t had any luck so far, but I’ve been looking for her since I arrived. Thanks for the offer …”
“Of course, honey.” She winked. “Well, I suppose I’ll let you ladies chat. I must find out the name of this tune Gavin’s playing. It’s simply divine. Enchantée!” She flitted her fingers in the air and slithered away from us.
“Bitch,” Audrey snapped underneath her breath.
“Audrey, she just offered to help you.”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re just going to let her go sit next to Gavin like that? Would you look at those hips? My God Camille, who is this chick?”
I sighed, turned and poured myself more rum. She was so right. “Ready for this one?” I took a delicious swig. She shook her head emphatically. “That chick? She’s his ex.”
“Cam. You need to get over there. Now. She’s lethal.”
“Thanks, Aud. Nice to have you back. Damn.”
“Do it while you’re brave, Cam,” her eyes rolled to my rum. “Tell her to take a hike while you still can.”
“It’s nice to know you have so much confidence in Gavin.”
“Camille,” she grabbed the chalice from my hand and poured me another shot. “Would you just look at the girl? It’s hard for even the noblest man to say no to that. It’s not him I don’t trust. There’s something about her …”
Discreetly, I pulled the chalice to my face to take a drink, leveling my eyes where Gavin sat as he strummed his guitar. Scarlet oozed all over him, playfully shoving him and tugging at his shirt while she made jokes. I began to feel tipsy, and my bravery was definitely escalated. Now or never. “Fine,” I shoved the chalice into Audrey’s hand and took off.
“Go get ’em, girl,” she cheered behind me. As brave as I was, I still felt like a fool. I hated being this jealous. It was infuriating. But Audrey was right. She confirmed what I’d already known. There was something about this long-legged sex kitten that positively rubbed me the wrong way.
“Mind if I sit?” I asked, stepping in front of her.
“He’s all yours.” She rose from her chair. “For now.” She winked and brushed by.
What the … Did she really just …?
Her words were deadpan, but I knew better. Holy hell. She just declared war.
“Come here, love.” Gavin set down his guitar and pulled me onto his lap, planted a kiss on my cheek. “Did you and Audrey get to catch up?”
He brushed his fingers through my hair and gave me a crooked smile. One look at him and I lost my bearings. “Um, yeah. Yeah, we did.”
“You okay?” He nuzzled my neck. “Babe, how much have you been drinking? You smell like a rum distillery.” He kissed underneath my ear, and I could feel him grinning against my skin. “Do I need to put you to bed again?”
“Gavin, I need to talk to you about Scarlet.”
“Cam, I thought we talked about this. Your jealously is endearing, but it’s really not necessary. Come on, let’s get you to bed. Big day tomorrow.” He stood up and cradled me in his arms. We made our way to a small room in the corner of the house, music still filling the room as Gabe and Josh entertained the others.
Music that didn’t soothe my jealousy. “It’s not just jealousy, Gavin. I have a strange feeling about her. I really think she wants you.”
“Baby,” he set me down on a straw bed and placed himself next to me. “Even if that were the case, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. She likes to push buttons, and she’s just very … flirtatious.” He tossed a quilt over me. “Don’t let it bother you. We have other things to worry about, important things. Tomorrow we have to begin earning the peoples’ trust, have to convince everyone to work together.”
Much as I hated to admit it, he was right. We had a war to begin, and apparently our work was cut out for us in getting a village full of people already so kowtowed to help fight it. Still … “I know, Gav, but steer clear of her. I mean it.”
“You have my word. Now stop worrying about her. We can’t afford to be distracted.”
“I guess …” I yawned, suddenly exhausted. The day really drained me, and I could feel myself fading, finally processing everything I’d experienced since we arrived.
“Sleep now, beautiful. You’ll need your strength in the morning.” He placed one chaste kiss on my lips and I gave into my nagging need for sleep, visions of Miss Hotsy-Totsy dancing in my head.
* * *
The following weeks were spent gathering the Amaranthians into small groups, meeting with them in our little home to explain our motives and convince them to join or at least support our plan. Guards were sparse in the streets since our arrival, only permitted to force the villagers to work and keep up with their daily tasks. Gavin stayed around the house to hold the covert meetings, while Gabe, Josh, and the others spent time in the city, helping calm the weak uprisings and feeble riots that broke out in spurts across the villages. Audrey and I were often stuck cooking for and cleaning up after the meeting attendees. The work was hard, and I sometimes found myself wishing that the villagers were vampires too—drinking blood seemed a lot easier than cooking on a wood stove. My feminist streak started rearing up early. To make matters worse, Scarlet often joined us to “help.”
“I mean, really. Why aren’t we out in the streets helping?” I said one day. I huffed and puffed, threw my rolling pin down. “If I have to bake any more bread, I’m going to puke.”
“Cam, if you want to get out there and be all rough and tough with the boys, go for it,” Audrey said. “I’m kind of digging this pioneer woman thing, personally.” She rubbed her hands on her apron and lifted her hair to tie it back.
Of course she is. She’s Ms. Super Chef. It was a relief to spend so much time with Audrey, an even bigger relief to see her human again. It felt as if no time had passed at all, with us once again finishing each other’s thoughts.
“Fine,” I mumbled, rolled up the bread dough just as she’d shown me, placed the entire roll into a loaf pan and left it to
rise, covered, next to the stove’s warmth. “Any word on your great-aunt Cecile?”
“Not yet. Scarlet’s been trying to help me, but I think she’s right. If we haven’t found her by now, chances are she’s not alive.” She secured her hair tie, shrugged. “I thought if I got anything out of this mess, aside from being able to stay with Gabe, I’d at least find out about my history with the frozen souls.”
“I’m really sorry, Aud. Something still might turn up.”
“Yeah, I hope so.” She gave me a warm smile and prepared to beat some eggs. “Hey, you know, I never really had the chance to apologize to you … properly.”
“Huh? For what?” I lied, knowing well what she meant. Sure, I was mad at Audrey for a while after she’d made the decision to become immortal without telling me, for keeping me in the dark about all that was unfolding around us. But I didn’t see a point in arguing with her about it anymore. I really did forgive her, and I knew she had her reasons, as crazy as they were. All that mattered now was she was back, and she was my Audrey again. That seemed a miracle, after what Gavin and I had done.
“Aud, you don’t have to do this,” I said. “We’re best friends, and best friends don’t need to apolog—”
“Yes, I do. Scarlet was right. Changing was a rash decision. And not telling you? Not explaining? That was awful. I’m really sorry, Cam. All I can say is, I felt compelled to come here with him, to see if there was any truth to my history with the vampires. And the idea of losing Gabe was … inconceivable. I never believed in soul mates until I met him that day on your driveway. One look, and it was all over. It began to consume me.”
She stopped beating the eggs, fixating on something in the distance. “And that was a huge reason I kept it all from you. Because you knew me so well. Too well. Something this big, this surreal, this … terrifying … I didn’t know how to even begin telling you.”
I was now focused on stirring the batter for what I hoped would be a delicious pumpkin spice cake by lunchtime. “I understand that. Really. I know you didn’t want Gabe to come here alone. And I knew you were a goner the second you met him. I know what he means to you, Aud.” I stopped stirring and looked at her. “Besides, I’ve done nothing but make rash decisions since I met Gavin. Who am I to judge?”
